” A pleasant journey has come to an end. Therefore, I would like to thank for the support, because without it, I would not have the opportunity to be here now.Even though research is not part of the curriculum in all medical schools, it is very important for the medical advancement. Without it, we would not be able to improve our medical practices, the available treatments and the prognosis of different diseases. Doing research helps you to improve your critical thinking and gain many skills that will make you a better clinician.Despite the importance of doing research, getting funding for it can be very hard. Especially for juniors. Many foundations require you to be more experienced. Therefore, my search was limited and disappointing. I got lucky to be informed about Hart4Onderzoek that was willing to support juniors. A few months after sending an inquiry to them, I received a grant!

In those months, I had the opportunity to learn how to critically appraise a scientific article, how to make a literature study, I learned how to read magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the heart and, also, how to use software in order to edit the images and get the parameters that we were interested in. Moreover, I got experience in presenting scientific results in front of others and how to prepare for possible questions that might arise. During this time, I got the chance to participate in weekly meetings which included MRI educational meetings, meetings with the HCM research group and, also, educational lectures about different topics in cardiovascular science.

I am very excited to share with you my next step: I got accepted for a PhD position in LUMC Leiden starting in September! My project will be about Vasoplegia (low blood pressure that does not respond to the use of medication) in patients undergoing heart failure surgery. When I look back, I realize how lucky I was to be given this opportunity. I am very thankful for all the support and help and I am also very happy that there is still a foundation that believes in young scientists and supports cardiovascular research.